Method for removing stains from teeth



Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED 'STATES' METHOD FOR REMOVING STAINS FROMTEETH Gilbert Dlllic Laymon, Miami, Fla.

No Drawing. Application October 15,1934, Serial No; 748,427

' .2 Claims. (Cl. 167-93) This invention relates to the method and meansfor removing stains from teeth. It is known that the teeth are normallycovered with a persistent filmor plaque of mucin and which 5 film is therecipient of the various objectionable stains which it is the purpose ofthe present invention to remove.

The difiiculty which is customarily experienced in removing certaintypes of stains, for example,

l that of nicotine, is due to the fact that the detergent action ofordinary stain removers is expend- V ed solely at the surface of themucin film, while.

the stain has penetrated into the film to a relatively great depth, thatis to say, to a depth not 15 reached by the detergent. I

' One of the objects of the present-invention is the provision of astain remover which shall penetrate the mucin film at least to the depthof the stain regardless of how far the latter may have been absorbed bythe am;

Another object'oi the inventionis to provide a stain remover comprisingcomplementary substances, separately applied, the first of which is ofdeep penetrable nature with respect to the 2 mucin'plaque so as to sinkin at least as far. as the stain to be removed, and the second substancebeing reactive with respect to the first so that whenapplied to the filmsubsequent to the application of the first substance, a chemical action30 occurs in situ throughout the depth of the stain,

which not only disintegrates the mucin film through the kinetics of thereaction, but at the same time-decolors and obliterates the stainsprobably through oxidation. I

35 More specifically, the object of my invention is to provide-a stainremover in the form of two liquids having the co-operative propertiesabove related, one being tincture of iodine which is applied to themucin plaque and readily absorbed v4 therebylto the entire depth of saidplaque, the

other being sodium thiosulphate which is also freelyabsorbed throughoutthe depth of thefilm and combines with the iodine in a reaction whichdecolors the stain and loosens the film. 45 A preferred and practicalformula for minvention is as follows: I

Solution No. I-Iodine 3.8% I Solution No. 2-Sodium thiosulphate 5% Theabove proportions are capable of being varied within wide limits withoutvitiating the function and effect 'of the invention.

It is a common expedient to stain the teeth with iodine preparatory tocleansing them in various ways, the. iodine being merely a disclosingsolu- 55 .tion showing up by its color the areas where the mucin plaquestill persists and by the abunce of color those areas from which themucin plaque has been removed. As has been stated. the mucin film isquite persistent and measures which have heretofore been used toremovestains have been largely with the assistance of mechanicaldetergents and harmful to the teeth.

The iodine-in the formula of the present invention not only plays therole of a disclosing a ent, i but as stated, it becomes ,a concomitantof the re- 5 action by which the film is loosened and the stainde'colored.

After the application of the sodium thiosulphate to the iodine stainedhim, and the complete disappearance of the color of the iodine as well10 as the stain, the mucin film is readily removed by the use of thetooth brush.

The principle by which the stain remover acts has not been positiv lyascertained, but it is believed to be a phenomenon of electronicre-arrangement taking place in the combining substances duringthe'pe'ricd of their reaction.

In bringing the sodium thiosulphate and iodine together-the resultingreaction may be represented by the following equation: -2Na:Sz0= IrNaaSrOd 2Na1 Colorless Colored Colorless Colorless sodium thiosulphateSodium tetra-thionate The process represented above is anoxidationreduction process.

It happens that neutral iodine, that is, iodine of zero valence havingthe same number of negative charges (electrons) as it has positivecharges, so is colored a purplish color and its solutions are similarlycolored. However, iodine that has gained an electron, and therefore hasa minus onevalence, is colorless, and its solutions are generallycolorless. In the above reaction all of 85 the iodine 2 (zero valence)has been changed to "1- (minus one valence) and consequently the coloris lost.

In the above formulae and those that follow:

+ represents excess of one positive charge.

-represents excess of one negative charge (electron).

0 represents a balanced condition (just as many negative as positivecharges). a

Writing the equation withespecial reference to the electron movements,we have:

According to the theory on which the above 6 equations are based, when asubstance is oxidized it has lost electrons, and when it is reduced ithas gained electrons. In general the oxidation of colored substancesresults in the destruction of the colored structures to some extent.Sometimes this occurs in reduction through rearrangement.

The destruction of the colors on the teeth is probably due to theoxidation of some organic colored materials.

The iodine may be destroying the color stains through oxidation and thenthe excess iodine applied may be bleached out by means of the sodiumthiosulphate.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be apreferred and practical embodiment of my invention, it will beunderstood that the details of proportion and the technic involved inthe application of the stain remover to the teeth are merely by way ofexample and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the inventionas claimed.

What I claim is:

1. Method of removing stains from teeth comprising impregnating themucin film to a depth at least as great as the objective stain with aniodine solution, and treating the thus impregnated film with a solutionof sodium thiosulphate whereby the kinetic as well as the chemicaldecoloring reaction of the substances is produced in situ in all regionsof the objective stain.

2. Method of removing stains from teeth comprising impregnating themucin film to a depth at least as great as the objective stain with asolution of iodine of substantially 3.3 percent strength, and treatingthe thus impregnated film with a sodium thiosulphate solution withapproximately 5 percent strength, whereby the kinetic as well as thedecoloring reaction oi. these substances is produced in the objectivestain.

GILBERT DILLIE LAYMON.

situ in all regions of

